The present invention relates generally to a new and novel system and method for improving the reliability and performance of wireless communication systems using message pooling and statistical analysis of received signals and background noise. Improving the reliability and performance by the present system and method allows system operation in an environment in which signal to noise ratios are lower than the generally required level for determining if a transmission was received. More particularly, the present invention relates to improving the signal to noise ratio of wireless communication systems in conjunction with electronic display systems or other systems having a base station and satellite devices.
Large retail stores often deal with several tens of thousands of different kinds of products. In such stores, much attention is paid to the management and control of the inventory of products and the displaying and labeling of the prices of the products being sold. Mistakes as to the labeling of the prices of products could cause dissatisfaction to customers and damage the reputation of the store.
Therefore, it is desirable to correctly identify the prices of products and minimize the number of pricing errors. Accordingly, electronic display systems having multiple electronic display units have been developed. Such electronic display systems are typically arranged such that light-weight, compact electronic display units which display the product's price, along with other product information, are place on display shelves or showcases in front of the products. These types of electronic display systems typically allow the prices of products displayed in the electronic display portions of the electronic display units to be changed when the prices are raised or lowered and/or when the arrangement of products displayed on the display shelves or showcases are changed.
In such electronic display systems, it becomes possible to reliably identify the correct prices of products since changes in the prices of products displayed on the electronic display portions of the electronic display units are controlled and managed by a base communication system or some other processing control unit. When these electronic display systems use wireless communication, the system must reliably operate over wide ranges of path loss and noise levels. This reliable operation is typically accomplished by designing wireless communication systems for the worst case operating scenario, often resulting in additional cost. There is a need for a system and method for transmitting and receiving signals in wireless communication systems using message pooling which can enable a less expensive system to operate over wide ranges of path loss and noise level while yielding reliable results.